U.S. stocks were mostly slightly lower Tuesday as investors worried about the economy despite better than expected signs from the retail sector that boosted Best Buy, J.C. Penney and Kroger. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 17.64 points, or 0.17%, to 10526.49, its first drop in five sessions.

The measure's financial components were among its weakest, with American Express off 84 cents, or 2%, to 40.38, Bank of America down 27 cents, or 1.9%, to 13.68, and J.P. Morgan Chase off 40 cents, or 1%, to 40.72.

The slip among financials came a day after the sector had rallied strongly. The Nasdaq Composite eked out a gain of 4.06, or 0.18%, to 2289.77.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index slipped 0.80 point, or 0.07%, to 1121.10, with its financial sector leading the drop while technology and consumer companies rose.

The gains among consumer stocks came as a Commerce Department report showed U.S. retail sales rose for a second straight month.

In addition, consumer electronics retailer Best Buy posted a 61% jump in quarterly earnings, while supermarket operator Kroger's fiscal second quarter profit surprisingly rose 2.8% on better than expected revenue, and J.C. Penney Chief Executive Mike Ullman told attendees at a conference that the retailer expects better same store sales in the fourth quarter than a year earlier.

Best Buy rose 2.08, or 6%, to 36.73, while Kroger edged up 22 cents, or 1.1%, to 21.26, and J.C. Penney jumped 1.66, or 7.4%, to 23.99.

European market

European stock markets ended mixed Tuesday, with weak data from Germany hurting sentiment and with shares of Philips Electronics under pressure as the company's growth targets failed to impress investors.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index finished down 0.02% at 266.40 points. The main regional benchmark indexes eked out marginal gains. The French CAC 40 index gained 0.2% to 3,774.40 and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index edged up 0.03% to 5,567.41.

The German DAX 30 index reversed intraday losses to end up 0.2% at 6,275.41 points. Sentiment had been soured earlier in the session by data showing a sharp drop in the ZEW gauge of German business sentiment, which turned negative for the first time since March 2009.

Traders also digested U.S. data on retail sales, which rose 0.4% in August. In Amsterdam, shares of Philips fell 3.9%.

The conglomerate said it targets comparable sales growth of 2% above global gross domestic product over the next five years. Shares of Nokia Corp. slipped 3.2% in Helsinki.

The mobile phone maker unveiled several new Symbian smartphones at its annual showcase in London, but the new technology was overshadowed by the news that Chairman Jorma Ollila will step down in 2012.

Asian market

Asian stock markets ended mixed Tuesday with exporters weighing on the Tokyo market as the yen strengthened on the results of a close vote to determine leadership of Japan's ruling party. Japan's Nikkei Share Average ended 0.2% lower and South Korea's Kospi Composite fell 0.2%.

China's Shanghai Composite Index finished flat and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up 0.2%. Exporters were under pressure in Japan as the yen touched a new 15 year high against the dollar before the of results the Democratic Party of Japan leadership battle.

Toyota Motor was down 1.7% and Toshiba fell 1.0%. The yen strengthened against the U.S. dollar, briefly touching 83.07 from 83.60, after results showed Prime Minister Naoto Kan retained leadership of the Democratic Party of Japan and by extension, the nation by defeating challenger Ichiro Ozawa.

Banks extended their gains from Monday as short covering continued on improved sentiment on capital adequacy-related issues.

Traders say that the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision's decision on new capital requirements are unlikely to require Japanese banks to raise more capital. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group added 0.7% and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group gained 1.2%.

Base Metals

Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were broadly higher in late European trading, buoyed by a weaker dollar against the euro, and positive sentiment emanating from rising gold and equity markets, market participants said Tuesday.

Benchmark LME nickel futures for delivery in three months rose above a four month high to $23,350 a metric ton, while tin rose above a two year high to $22,651 a metric ton as spot gold reached a new all time record high of $1,274.80 a troy ounce.

Crude futures eased lower Tuesday as uncertainty about the status of a major Canada U.S. oil pipeline weighed on the market. Light, sweet crude for October delivery settled 39 cents, or 0.5%, lower at $76.80 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange was recently up 11 cents, or 0.1%, at $79.14 a barrel. Oil prices are being supported at their current level by the continued shutdown of Enbridge Inc.'s (ENB) Line 6a pipeline, which can carry up to 670,000 barrels a day of Canadian crude to U.S. refiners.

A long outage could begin to drain bloated U.S. oil inventories, which when combined with fuel stockpiles sit at their highest point since the early 1980s. Investors propelled gold to record highs as they continued buying the precious metal as a way to offset potential losses from a faltering global economic recovery and dollar.

The most actively traded gold contract, for December delivery, rose $24.60, or 2%, to a record settlement of $1,271.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The intraday high was $1,276.50. Nearby but thinly traded September gold also settled at a record, $1,269.70, up $24.60, or 2%.